Regrets
by Anhilare
Summary: Ladybug has some regrets she wants to share. No one knows it's her, though.


**This idea came from someone else's story. I don't exactly remember the title, but I remember it being along the lines of "She couldn't accept it" or something.**

 **EDIT: I got the title right; the author is roxan1930. Thank you Marichatahipper325 and roxan1930.**

 **Oh, btw, I titled this doc "Let me kill a little piece of your soul" in the doc manager.**

 **How cheery.**

* * *

"Ok, kids! We have ten minutes until you guys need to go home!"

The woman speaking had greying black hair put up in a bun, a petite figure, and slanted blue eyes. Her kindly face was beginning to show wrinkles. In her arms she was holding a glossy black cat with electric green eyes. She was watching some children while working in her bakery.

"Can you tell us a story first?"

"Yeah, we want a story!"

The lady smiled and replied, "Of course I can, but remember that if a customer comes, I'll have to stop the story for a bit. Got that?"

"Yep!" chorused the children. There were about 12 of them, and they were ranged from 3 to 7 years old.

"Alright." She walked over to her rocking chair and sat down with her cat in her lap. "There was once a normal girl with a normal life. She was kind, sweet, and well-liked by her classmates."

"Like you?" piped up one of the little girls.

"Aw, you're too sweet, Adelle." replied the lady. "But she can be like me if you want," she whispered with a wink.

During that exchange, she failed to hear some of the childrens' parents walk into the store to pick up their kids. _Oh, she's telling one of her famous stories,_ they thought. _Let's wait until the end before we take our kids. We can't take this away from them, and besides, we want to hear one too, for once._

So the parents listened in. The woman continued: "One day, the girl came home from school and found a mysterious box sitting on her desk. _What's this?_ she thought. She opened it and found a pair of magic earrings inside."

"Ooh, is it the ladybug miraculous?" chirped one of the little boys.

"Yes," replied the woman. "So she put on the earrings, and transformed by saying—"

"SPOTS ON!" shouted the children, who then burst out laughing.

Every adult smiled at the scene.

"That's right," the woman smiled. "Ladybug transformed, and she leapt over Paris's rooftops to fight Hawk Moth's first akuma: Stoneheart.

"At first, Ladybug was confused. She didn't know what to do. She was so unconfident and insecure that when she forgot to purify Stoneheart's akuma, she tried to give the miraculous to one of her friends."

The adults were surprised. After Hawk Moth was defeated once and for all, Cat Noir revealed his identity, recieving much gratitude and appreciation for defending the city. Ladybug, though, she just disappeared. No one, not even her partner, knew much about what happened to her.

"Ladybug was told by her kwami that no one should know her identity, not even her partner. If she told anyone, they could be put in danger. She didn't want anyone to get hurt, so she told no one.

"Cat Noir was told the same thing, but he didn't understand why he couldn't tell Ladybug, especially since he was in love with her."

"Did Ladybug love him back?" Of course it came from Hugo, ever the dramatic one.

"I was just about to tell you. You see, Ladybug had a crush on Adrien, the same on e who was Cat Noir. She didn't know he was Adrien Agreste. Cat Noir loved Ladybug, but he didn't know that Ma—her real self loved Adrien."

This was also new information to the adults. Well, all except one.

Adelle pouted. "If they were the same person, why didn't they just love both sides?"

"That was a very good question. It's actually pretty important, too. You see, Ladybug and her real self acted differently. Ladybug was clever and confident, while her real self wasn't as much so. They were still pretty similar, though. If someone knew she was Ladybug, they'd be able to see it.

"Adrien and Cat Noir were like two different people. Adrien was shy, polite, and reserved, and he was a sweetheart in general. Cat Noir was the opposite. He was loud, flirtatious, confident, and quite the jokester. I remember the day M. Agreste said he was Cat Noir, people were saying things like, 'He's trying to improve his publicity, being a famous model.' He had to get the miraculous back from its owner and transform on live TV to convince everyone otherwise. They were too different."

All the adults remembered that week clearly. It had been chaos, first with the defeat of Hawk Moth, then the long reveal of Cat Noir, and finally the permanent disappearance of Ladybug.

"Cat Noir was always asking Ladybug if they could reveal their identities, since he loved her and wanted to be with her. Ladybug wanted to follow Ti—her kwami's advice, so she said no each time. It's not that she didn't want to know, she just kmew it was best if they didn't.

"One night, he successfully convinced Ladybug to reveal her identity, which was a grave mistake. They weren't ready to reveal."

Everyone was eagerly hanging on to the woman's every word, especially Adrien Agreste, now 30 years old. He had come to pick up his daughter Adelle, when he started to hear the familiar story. Curious whether it was just a coincidence or actually the real story, he stayed and listened.

"When Ladybug detransformed, Cat Noir was ecstatic that she was his classmate who everyone loved. He instantly drew the connections, and he hoped that she would love him back."

The woman took a deep, ragged breath, as if the next part pained her. She could feel tears starting, but years of mental training allowed her to block them.

"When Cat Noir detransformed, Ladybug was shocked. She couldn't _believe_ that goofy Cat Noir was quiet, polite Adrien. She transformed and rushed home to sort out her confusion and anger."

By now, the usually-lively atmosphere of the bakery was beginning to dampen. The parents only expected worse from the story.

"Adrien was heartbroken, and he went home crying. He felt like his soul had shattered into thousands of pieces, or so I heard. When he walked into our class the next day, I remember him being a _mess._ "

"Ladybug was a mess for weeks. She tried desperately to piece together Adrien-slash-Cat Noir's full personality, and that took her many sleepless nights and tears. Once she finished and looked at the full picture, she realized that she loved him with all her heart. But it was too late.

"By then, Adrien had moved on. A couple years later, he started dating and eventually married Chloé Bourgeois. At the time, that was like a slap in the face to Ladybug. The girls _hated_ each other."

Some of the kids were confused. "Why did they hate each other? Mme. Agreste is really nice!"

"Believe it or not, Chloé used to be a mean bully. It wasn't until 11th grade when she became nice.

"Anyway, Adrien went on to take over the Agreste empire and expanded it to frontiers beyond fashion, becoming immensely successful. In fact, he's so rich now that I don't understand why he even brings you here, Adelle. I'm happy he does, though. You're a good kid."

Adelle beamed at the praise.

"Anyway, Ladybug's heart silently dissolved into sand the moment she discovered she loved him, for she knew that he couldn't love her anymore. She never recovered. From that day on, she found herself unable to romantically love someone. Her self-esteem was destroyed, and her confidence was in tatters. The girl was just a shell of her former self. She grew distant from everyone she cared about, for she did not feel worthy of them. When it was time to give up the miraculous recovery, she did so quickly and quietly, for she did not feel worthy of the city's praise.

"I remember that she wanted to be a fashion designer when she grew up. All her friends, and even Adrien, the _model,_ said she was good at designing. She could've gone far in life.

"Instead, she avoided the fashion world at all costs, for everywhere she looked she saw the name _Agreste_ and would be reminded of her pain. When she got older, she took over her parents' old shop.

"Now, all she has are her cat and her memories. And me, her only remaining friend."

When she finished her story, the woman saw that some of the kids had tears in their eyes. "That story was so sad," they said. "Why did you tell it to us?"

She looked at them with a dead-straight face and told them, "I don't want any of you to be sad with your life. I hope you can take Ladybug's story and learn to accept others for who they are, move forward in life, and follow you're dreams. Ladybug did none of those things, and now the only thing keeping her alive is her cat, of all things."

The woman turned her head and told the adults, "How did you like the story?"

"You know who Ladybug was" said Mme. Lahiffe.

"Yes, and I'm not telling you."

"I hated Ladybug?" said Mme. Agreste.

"I can assure you that she doesn't hate you anymore."

In the corner of the bakery, M. Agreste stood there and looked into the lady's face, now that he knows both sides. He saw that she was a little happy now, but he also saw how _hollow_ she looked, like all the life was drained out of her. He knew now that she was his age, about 30, but she looked twice as old.

In that moment, Adrien looked at his family and thought, _I don't deserve this. I ruined Marinette's life, and she of all people deserves it least. Sweet, kind Marinette. Had I not been so eager to reveal our identities, had I actually thought things through, everything could have been different. Poor, lonely Marinette._

Eventually, everyone walked out of Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie with a smile on their face, waving "Bye, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng!"

* * *

 **This isn't grammar proofed because it's freaking 4:40 am.**

 **It might sound rushed for the same reason.**

 **Ugh.**

 **This is a one-shot and therefore is complete, unless someone gives a _really_ good prompt for me to continue on.**

 **I'm not expecting that to happen, to be quite honest.**


End file.
